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Home: C : Charlie Hall : Biography
Biography (courtesy
of sixsteps / EMI Records)
"This music is for those people who want to change the
world and for those who are trying to make it through the
next few hours and for everyone in between." —Charlie
Hall
Charlie Hall is a contemplative and confident artist that
is always on the journey of defining and questioning who
he is and who God is. Hall has again crafted songs that will
resonate deeply with listeners with Flying Into Daybreak.
With his last, critically acclaimed record, On the Road to
Beautiful, Hall wrote out of his own restlessness, difficulties,
and frustrations. Many questions seemed unanswered and perspective
seemed clouded. Flying Into Daybreak is a continuation of
that journey, but one of soaring out of the darkness, pain,
and heartache, and into a place of rest. The album is a story
of running to God and finding light and beauty in the struggle,
and though not always finding all the answers, resting in
the hope and glory that endures.
"I definitely wrote the last record out of some hard
situations. I was on a journey of walking toward God through
a good deal of struggles, but then I finally reached this
place of rest in my life. I feel like I came to a clearing … into
the Daybreak, if you will."
The album, tagged by Hall as being "a little artsy,
and a little rocky, but accessible," is filled with
honest lines that express the limits of man and the gloriousness
of God, who is "breath taking and breath giving." With
the new record, Hall has truly stepped forward into daybreak
with themes of newness and clarity, turning away from the
pressures that often come from culture, whether Christian
or mainstream. "I don't feel like an American Christian,
a pop culture Christian. I feel like my faith is more honed
into God, where I'm not part of a culture where I'm trying
to make the people around me think, 'Hey, that's a good Christian.'
I'm just trying to pursue God and not pursue being accepted
into a club … I'm more honed into my pursuit of God
in Christ and how he's forming me and changing and helping
me love him and know him."
Hall also identifies with Passion founder
and director Louie Giglio and the organization's message
to the 268generation, a movement of tens of thousands of
college students from every state in the US and numerous
countries from around the world. As many of the Passion
collegiate gatherings were recorded live, Hall was quickly
dubbed as a "voice" for
the Passion movement, performing on all eight Passion albums,
which have sold well over one million units. In the midst
of Charlie's involvement with last year's Passion 05 he met
with David Hodges, who has written for and produced Evanescence,
among others. A friendship formed between the two and Hodges
signed on to produce Flying Into Daybreak, helping to capture
Charlie's desire for a new and different sound.
The songs for this album also found
inspiration from Charlie's chuch, Bridgeway Community in
Oklahoma City. "The church
really lives out their faith. There's not a sense of anyone
just trying to put on some sort of spiritual face. They just
want to go and give their lives away. Despite the struggles
they're dealing with in their own lives, they're continually
working towards God and doing His work, His mission, and
what He asks of them. Along with them, I'm just ready to
hand my life over—my time, my money, my family—I'm
ready to be a part of His heart and His dream."
More than just a story of Hall's experiences and desires,
the continued journey found with Flying Into Daybreak is
hopeful and expectant. The album welcomes God's wrapping
flesh around His love, and walking it into the hearts of
others. It's for the poor, the addicted, the hurting. It's
for those who feeling inspired, or those feeling uninspired.
For those who need new words to say, and a new way to say
them.
"I want the record to have a life of its own and burrow
into people's hearts and lives. I want this album to find
a home in a lot of different communities. I want it to be
heard by those who know God, and those who don't, and by
those who are ready to throw the organized church out the
window. My prayer is that the album would breathe life into
them and speak something new, that the Holy Spirit would
rest on the album and give it life wherever it goes, and
in whatever hands it finds it's way into. Ultimately, I want
people to feel free and alive … people are looking
for hope and life and peace, and my hope is that with this
record, that they can find it."
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